BLITZ: Hereford rolls in Victory, 35-7

Lake View seniors refuse to be shut out

Lake View High School's Victor Muro (left) and John Hernandez (right) tackle Hereford's Josh Lopez on a carry. The Chiefs closed out a tough season without a district win. Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times

SAN ANGELO, Texas - With the clock running out on his high school career, Lake View senior quarterback Alan Moreno had one more big play left in him Friday night.

As time expired at San Angelo Stadium, Moreno hooked up with fellow senior Kenny Gonzales for a 42-yard touchdown pass to prevent a shutout by the mighty Hereford Whitefaces.

Hereford showed why it's the second-best team in District 4-4A by rolling to a 35-7 win over the Chiefs in the season finale for Lake View.

The Whitefaces improved to 4-6 overall and 4-1 in district and they'll get a chance to avenge a loss earlier this season against Canyon Randall when they meet in the first round of the playoffs next week.

Lake View, meanwhile, finished 1-9 and 0-5 in its first season in 4-4A after being realigned out of 8-4A this past spring.

The Whitefaces, who led 21-0 at the half, finished with 351 yards total offense, compared to just 159 for the Chiefs.

Hereford's other scores came on a pair of runs by Shawndi Gaytan and one by Dane Lowrey.

Moreno, who completed 4 of 11 passes for 73 yards and one TD, was determined to put some points on the scoreboard for Lake View on the final series.

A six-play, 78-yard drive by the Chiefs showed this team would fight until the end, even though there wasn't anything more to play for than school pride.

"We don't give up, even on the last play of the game," said Moreno, who was intercepted once. "We know we lost. We know our season's over. We called a timeout and I wanted to score. I didn't want to get shut out my last game."

It was the only reception for Gonzales all night, but it was a memorable one.

"I was just emotional," Gonzales said afterward. "I wish we could've done better, but the team overall did well. We couldn't pull off a win, but in the end we ended it well."

"The biggest thing is I think we did a lot of good things tonight, but our inability to move the ball consistently offensively really was disappointing for us," the second-year head coach said. "We feel like we're a better football than that offensively.

"They confused us a little bit, but we still need to play aggressive and get after people. And they're a good football team. I'm not taking anything away from Hereford, but we're a better offensive team than what we were tonight."

The Chiefs were held to just 27 yards in the first half, all coming on the ground.

Lake View managed to pick up only two first downs in the first half, compared to 11 for Hereford.

The Whitefaces converted two of three fourth-down opportunities in the first half and both conversions led to Hereford touchdowns.

On the opening series, the Whitefaces took over at their own 30-yard and marched 70 yards on 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The drive culminated in a 26-yard TD pass from Martinez to wide receiver High at the 7:54 mark of the first.

Following a three-and-out by the Chiefs on their first possession, the Whitefaces took over with great field position at the Lake View 49.

The 15-play drive resulted in a 1-yard TD run by Gaytan that pushed Hereford's lead to 14-0 with 10:40 remaining in the second quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Chiefs went three-and-out and Anthony Chappa's punt went just 22 yards, setting up the Whitefaces at their 34.

Five plays later, Hereford increased its lead to 21-0 on a 22-yard TD pass from Martinez to High at the 6:29 mark of the second.

Hereford finished with 253 yards total offense in the first half, including 148 through the air.

After the game, Moreno was surrounded with family and friends, who snapped photographs after he played his final down as a Chief.

"These are my No. 1 fans right here," Moreno said. "They come out here every game. I love these guys to death and they drive me."

And even though his playing days are over now, Moreno says he and his teammates developed a close bond that will continue in the future.

"They're my family," Moreno said of his teammates. "I know I can call on them 10 years down the road and I know they'll still be there for me."

Twenty-two seniors played their final game for the Chiefs on Friday and Kuhlmann said they left an indelible mark on the program."I'm real appreciative of them this year," Kuhlmann said. "They've been a good example for our football team. They've led in a position direction.

"We fought hard all year long and it's because of the seniors. We could've given up a long time ago, but our seniors kept going and playing hard throughout the football season."

Lake View defeated Fort Stockton in the second game of the season to snap a 19-game losing streak. The Chiefs ended the year with eight straight losses.